Latest news with #CouncilonLegislation
Local Sweden
3 days ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Sweden moves forward with proposal to add three-year limit for SFI studies
For Members Immigrants studying Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) courses will under a new proposal only have three years to complete their studies before losing the right to take part in classes, Sweden's minister responsible for adult education has said. Advertisement Lotta Edholm, Sweden's Minister for Upper Secondary School, Higher Education and Research, highlighted the fact that many immigrants withdraw from SFI classes early ‒ in 2023, almost half of all SFI students did so. "Many of them have almost certainly had a plan to come back to studies after a while, but that's difficult and the risk is that they lose their Swedish language when they're gone," Edholm told press at a summer fika for journalists. SFI classes have received criticism in recent years for a poor standard of teaching, lack of resources and a failure to fully cater to people with different educational backgrounds. The government, she said, believes that more intensive, more well-coordinated SFI studies are needed for better results. Advertisement She added that it should be possible to extend the three-year limit by another three years if there are special considerations, for example in case of illness. The proposal has been submitted to Sweden's Council on Legislation (Lagrådet) for comment. The council will make sure that the law does not conflict with any existing laws, such as the constitution. Its comments are not legally binding, but are usually followed. Although this specific proposal is the result of a collaboration between the Liberals, Moderates, Christian Democrats and Sweden Democrats, it was originally put forward by the previous centre-left government in 2020. It originally had a proposed implementation date of January 1st, 2025, with an additional three-year transition period for people who are already enrolled on an SFI course. The new proposed implementation date is January 1st, 2026.
Local Sweden
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Sweden's Migration Agency cuts citizenship forecast by 26 percent due to security checks
Hampered by new security rules, Sweden's Migration Agency has sharply lowered its predictions for the number of citizenship applications it will process this year and next. Advertisement In October 2024, the Migration Agency predicted that it would conclude 87,000 applications each year in 2025 and 2026, thanks to increased staff at the agency – a first step towards reducing the heavily criticised long waiting times. But new security checks ordered by the government earlier this year are now forcing the agency to lower its previous estimate by more than a quarter: to 64,000 concluded citizenship cases in 2024 and 65,000 in 2026. 'The changes that have been decided mean that the review [of applications] will take more time and that productivity, that is the number of cases resolved per resource, will be lower than before,' reads the new forecast, which was published on April 25th. Migration Agency chief Maria Mindhammar said it was 'difficult to say with certainty' how the new measures, in place as of April 1st, would affect processing times. 'At the same time, additional resources are also being added, especially to strengthen the work with the security aspect and older cases,' she said in a statement, adding that these resources were meant to address concerns raised by the National Audit Office in a report in March, which slammed the agency over 'unreasonably' long waiting times. As the forecast notes, it is not clear to what extent these additional resources will offset the increased waiting times caused by the tighter security checks. But if it's correct, it would mean a 16 percent drop in the number of citizenship cases processed compared to 2024. The forecast doesn't take into account the citizenship reforms scheduled for June 2026 – including language tests and longer qualifying times – as it only considers new legislation once there's a bill or a draft proposal that has been sent to the Council on Legislation for consultation. But the original inquiry into the citizenship reforms estimated that they would affect both the number of applications and the rate at which the agency is able to process them, and Mindhammar confirmed the agency needed to "prepare" for the reforms. Advertisement The security checks that were introduced in April involve applicants, future and present, answering a detailed set of additional background questions, as well as having to verify their identity in person. They come on the orders of the government and its far-right Sweden Democrat allies, who instructed the Migration Agency to take 'forceful measures' to prevent people who pose a threat to security or use a fake ID from being granted citizenship. Experts had previously guessed that security checks would be tightened as a pretext of slowing down the awarding of new citizenships until the reforms planned for 2026 are in place – a slowdown strongly hinted at by the government in an opinion piece in the DN newspaper in November.
Local Sweden
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
What is Sweden's state-subsidised 'fritidskortet' scheme?
The Swedish fritidskortet programme is intended to promote participation in organised sports and cultural activities, helping families from all walks of life to engage children in meaningful leisure activities. However, despite its well-intentioned goals, the scheme has also attracted criticism, not least from the Swedish Council on Legislation (Lagrådet), which reviews legislative proposals before they are passed into law. So, how does fritidskortet work? Stripped down to its fundamentals, the programme provides financial compensation for children's leisure activities, ranging between 500 and 2,000 kronor per year per child. While the exact implementation details are still being finalised, the general idea is that families would receive state support to offset the costs of sports club memberships, music lessons, or similar extracurricular activities. To qualify for the scheme, the activities must take place at least ten times over a continuous six-month period. Furthermore, the fritidskortet would only cover fees for leader-led leisure activities offered by approved providers. When will it enter into effect? The initiative was initially set to launch in early 2024 but has faced several delays, with the latest timeline suggesting a September 1st start date. Why is the initiative controversial? The Council on Legislation has put forward several criticisms of the fritidskortet scheme proposed by the government, as reported by the Swedish news bureau TT. Firstly, it attacked the proposal for being too vague and underdeveloped. The legal review body noted that the draft legislation lacked key regulatory details, making it difficult to assess how the system would function in practice. Another major critique is the name fritidskortet itself, which suggests that families would receive a physical card – when, in reality, the program is simply a financial subsidy. The council suggested that a more accurate name would be something along the lines of "support for certain fees for children's leisure activities", even though it may lack the catchy appeal of fritidskortet. The full text with Lagrådet recommendations (in Swedish) can be found here. Other critics warned that without clear oversight mechanisms, the financial support could be vulnerable to fraud or misuse, as families might use the funds for unintended purposes. Some also questioned whether 500-2,000 kronor per year was enough to significantly improve access to leisure activities for children from lower-income families. What happens next? Despite the criticisms, Lagrådet did not reject the proposal outright but recommended substantial changes before it was finalised. The Swedish government will now have to address these concerns before the program can be effectively implemented. It is not legally obligated to follow Lagrådet's recommendations, but it is generally expected that the government at least acknowledges them. If the revised legislation passes, the fritidskortet programme is expected to be launched on September 1st, and in any case, no later than October 1st, 2025.
